Bag-boxing machine

ABSTRACT

A machine for introducing a twice-folded stack of bags into a carton wherein the bags are singly delivered through a first path to a partial folding support, thereafter a partially folded stack being conducted along a second path into a housing consisting of two pivotally interconnected jaws and finally the once-folded stack is ejected from the housing which achieves a second fold in the stack incident to introducing the twice-folded stack into a carton.

[ Feb. 8, 1972 3,496,698 2/1970Wichmann...............................53/117 Primary ExaminerTravis S.McGehee Att0rneyDawson, Tilton, Fallon & Lungmus [57] ABSTRACT A machinefor introducing a twice-folded stack of bags into a carton wherein thebags are singly delivered through a first path to a partial foldingsupport, thereafter a partially folded stack being conducted along asecond path into a housing consisting of two pivotally interconnectedjaws and finally the once-folded stack is ejected from the housing whichachieves a second fold in the stack incident to introducing thetwicefolded stack into a carton.

6 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures 4" POSITION BAG-BOXING MACHINE Ernst DanielNystrand; Harvey J. Spencer; Paul Ziegelhoffer, all of Green Bay, Wis.

Paper Converting Machine Company, Inc., Green Bay, Wis.

July 2, 1970 .53/120, 53/159 Int. 63/04 FieldofSearch.......53/113,116,l17,120

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/1935Remington...........................53/l20X United States PatentNystrand et a1.

[72] Inventors:

[73] Assignee:

[22] Filed:

[21] Appl.No.:

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' saw 8 UF 8 INVENTORS'. ERNST DANIEL NYSTRAND HARVEY J. SPENCER PAULZIEGELHOFFER BY: .fhwgr d g g g ATT'YS BAG-BOXING MACHINE BACKGROUND ANDSUMMARY OF INVENTION The invention has particular utility in connectionwith discrete bags which are intended for sequential dispensing from acarton. In particular, bags which have a zipper-type closure cannot beboxed in a continuous stream because of the impossibility of retainingconnecting bonds between successive bags. The invention provides a novelway of loading bags into cartons in a twice-folded condition by firstdelivering individual bags sequentially through a first path to form apartially folded stack on a support, thereafter the partially foldedstack is moved along a second path generally perpendicular to the firstpath into an enclosure which completes the folding of the stack.Thereafter the enclosure is positioned so as to permit pusher means toeject the once-folded stack in a fashion whereby a second fold isdeveloped incident to introducing the bags into a carton.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION The invention is described in conjunction with anillustrative embodiment, in which FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of themechanical operations previously referred to and showing the varioussteps performed according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of that portion of the machinewhich delivers the bags sequentially along the already referred to firstpath to a support;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of the apparatus seen inFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation of another portion of the machinewhich is found immediately below that illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the apparatus seen inFIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a detailed end elevational view of that portion of the machineoperative to provide the second fold in the stack of bags;

FIGS. 7-10 are fragmentary portions of FIG. 6 to explain the sequence ofoperations achieved by the various structures depicted in FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of the apparatus seen in FIG. 6; and

FIGS. 12 and 13 are fragmentary detailed views of portions of FIG. 1 1.

In the illustration given and with particular reference to FIG. 1, thenumeral designates an individual bag which is equipped with a press-typeclosure as at 21. The bag 20 is in the process of being removed from avacuum roll 22 (see FIG. 2) by means of packer fingers 23. The packerfingers move the bags 20 sequentially down a first path on to a V-shapedsupport 24.

After a predetermined number of bags have been accumulated on thesupport (which can be seen to be equipped with a slot as at 25 at itsupper end) a pusher 26 moves through the slot to advance the partiallyfolded stack along a second path designated by the arrow 27 and which isgenerally normal to the first path. At the end of the second path, thepartially foldedstack is in a third position 28, more particularly beingreceived within a housing 67 (see FIG. 6) which is made up of pivotallyinterconnected jaws. The jaws are brought together around the partiallyformed stack to complete the folding, after which housing is rotated 90to dispose the once folded stack in the position designated 28' inFIG. 1. Thereafter, the pusher 29 moves downwardly to force the stackout of the housing into a carton 30 and, in so doing, achieves a secondfold parallel to the first fold.

Turning now to the second and third sheets of the drawing, it will benoted in FIG. 2 that the packer fingers 23 are operated to follow agenerally circular orbit 31. The finger position 23' indicates thezenith of the orbit relative to a groove 32 in the delivery roll 22. Theroll 22 is constructed with a plurality of such grooves 32 toaccommodate the various packer fingers 23, and also the roll 22 has aninternal vacuum manifold (not shown) to cause the bags to adhere to theperiphery of the roll but which is shut off just prior to the bags beingmechanically removed by the operation of the packer fingers 23. In theillustration given, the roll 22 is seen in FIG. 2 to be rotating in aclockwise manner, while the orbiting packer fingers 23 follow aclockwise orbit. The bags removed sequentially from the roll 22 aredeposited on an angled support 24 which can be seen in FIGS. 2, 4, and5. In FIG. 5, a second support 24 is also depicted, this being narrowerso as to accommodate the receipt of a narrower bag 20'. Normally,however, the machine will be set up for one size of bag on both portionsof the roll 22, the supports 24 or 24', as the case may be, beingreplaceable accordingly.

FIG. 3 shows the layout of the portion of the machine responsible fordriving the orbital packer fingers. The numeral 33 designates asupporting tube which extends transversely of the machine. The termtransversely" is employed herein to denote a direction perpendicular tothe travel of the bags, i.e., parallel to the axis of the roll 22. InFIG. 3, the tube 33 is seen to be positioned between the side frames 34and 35. The tube 33 is equipped with a bracket 36 (see FIG. 2) whichcarries the packer fingers. The tube 33 is connected at its ends withcrank mechanisms 37 and 38 which are carried respectively on rotatingshafts 39 and 40 suitably joumaled in the machine frames. Thus, rotationof the shafts 39 and 40 cause the tube 33 to orbit, i.e., follow aneccentric path relative to the axis of the shafts 39 and 40.

The tube is connected to a second crank mechanism 41 (see FIGS. 2 and 3)by means of a connecting bar 42. The crank 41 is mounted on a shaft 43also joumaled in the frame 34 and this connection insures that thepacker fingers 23 are maintained parallel to the top of the support 24at all times during orbital motion. It will be noted from aconsideration of FIG. 2 that the nadir of the finger orbit 31 isslightly above the angled support 24 so that the sequential bags arecaused to move through a generally vertical path in a controlled fashionunder the influence of the packer fingers 23.

As indicated previously, the next step in the operation of the machineis to translate a completed stack of partially folded bags through asecond path generally perpendicular to the first path, i.e., in theillustration given, the second path being generally horizontal. This isachieved through the operation of a carriage 44 which is equipped withupstanding pusher elements 45 and an angled platform surface as at 46.The carriage 44 is slidably supported on a way 47 pivotally mounted atits downstream end as at 48.

Providing the motive power for moving the carriage 44 downstream is alinkage arrangement generally designated 49 and which includes a firstarm 50 rotatably fixed to the machine frame as at 51. Movement of thecarriage, back and forth, is achieved through a second linkage systemgenerally designated 52 which includes arms 53 and 54. The arm 54 ispivotally mounted as at 55 and is caused to oscillate by the action of acam follower arm 56 fixed to the same shaft 55 carrying the arm 54. Acam follower is provided at 57 which is engaged by a cam (not shown) butmounted on the machine frame with its axis at 58. Thus, oscillation ofthe arm 54 induced by the similar action of the arm 56 is translatedthrough the arm 53 to the arm 50. This in turn is transmitted via thearm 59 to the carriage 44.

On the return stroke of the carriage 44, it is necessary to depress orlower the carriage so that the same will not encounter the leading edgesof bags being stacked on the support 46. For this purpose a secondlinkage system is provided which includes a crank arrangement generallydesignated by the numeral 60. This arrangement is controlled by a secondcam (not shown) mounted about the axis 58 and which operates against acam follower 61. As the cam follower 61' follows the contour of the cam,particularly toward the end of the return stroke of the carriage 44, thecam follower arm 62 pivots to the left and in so doing by means of links63 and 64 causes the crank arrangement 60 to pivot counterclockwise Thecrank arm 65 is pivotally interconnected with a link 66 which in turn iscoupled to the way 47. Thus, at the end of the return movement of thecarriage 44, the carriage 44 is depressed to pass under the partiallycompleted stack of bags being accumulated on the support 24 andthereafter is moved upwardly into the position shown in FIG. 4 so as tobe ready to move a completed stack of bags to the right and into aconfining enclosure for further handling.

Turning now to FIG. 11, the enclosure just referred to is generallydesignated by the numeral 67. The side elevational view seen in FIG. 11is taken from the opposite side of the machine from the side elevationalview seen in FIG. 4. In other words, in FIG. 4, the flow of material isto the right whereas in FIG. 11 it is to the left. However, it will beappreciated that the carriage 44 is operative to introduce a partiallyfolded stack of bags into the enclosure 67. In the illustration given,two such enclosures are provided as can be seen from the central portionof FIG. 6 wherein the smaller size enclosure (corresponding to thesmaller support 24) is generally designated 67. Inasmuch as the machineinvolves a considerable amount of mechanism for performing the variousoperations, it was felt desirable to disassociate certain portions ofthe mechanism for presentation in simpler form. For this purpose, areference in now made to FIG. 7 which shows those portions of themachine of 'FIG. 6 which have to do with the receipt of the partiallyfolded stack of bags by the enclosure 67. In FIG. 7, the dotted lineshowing as at 67" is of the receiver or enclosure in the condition itassumes when the carriage delivers a partially folded bag thereto. Theenclosure 67 is made up of two housinglike jawswhich can be spread apartto accommodate the partially folded stack and, after the carriage hasbeen withdrawn, close to the solid line showing in FIG. 7. Eachenclosure 67 has its two housinglike jaw portions pivotallyinterconnected as at 68, the pivotal interconnection providing a supportfor the enclosure which will be described hereinafter in connection withFIG. 8. Each of the housing jaw portions 69 and 70 has an upwardlycurved extension carrying an actuating roller as at 71 and 72respectively.

Reference is now made to'FIG. 12 where a portion of FIG. 11 isreproduced and it will be noted that the roller 71 and 72 are associatedwith arm portions 73 and 74 provided on the housing jaw portions 69 and70.

To position the enclosures 67 in a proper condition for the receipt of apartially folded stack of bags, a carriage generally designated 75 ismoved downwardly into engagement with the roller 71 and 72 to achieve ascissorlike action in opening the enclosure 67 to the dotted linecondition designated 67". For this purpose,.a linkage system made up ofarms 76, 77, 78, 79 and80 is employed, suitably actuated by a camsynchronized with the remaining portions of the machine. The carriage 75is lowered for only that length of time necessary to receive thepartially folded stack of bags. After that occurs and for the remainderof the cycle of boxing a given stack, the carriage 75 remains inelevated position.

The next stage of operation can be appreciated better from aconsideration of FIG. 8. In FIG. 8, the enclosures 67 and 67 are seen tobe mounted on rocker arms 81. The rocker arms 81 are, pivotally mountedon shafts 82 which extend lengthwise of the vmachine and are suitablyjoumaled in bearings supported between the side frames 34 and 35. Gearsas at 83 are affixed to the shafts 82 and are controlled by means of acam actuated linkage generally designated 84 for the purpose of pivotingthe enclosure 67 through a 90 arc to the position wherein the supportingarm is designated by the symbol 81 in FIG. 8. At that orientation, theenclosures are in a position to have their contents ejected into areceiving carton .85. A part of the apparatus detail just described canalso be seen from FIG. 12 wherein the rocker arm 81 is seen to bemounted for pitoval movement about the axis of the longitudinallyextending shaft 82.

The next phase of the operation of the machine includes the stepspreparatory to the pusher element 29 being introduced into the enclosurefor ejecting the once folded stack of bags.

For this purpose, a bracket 86 is affixed to a longitudinally extendingshaft 87, the shaft 87 also carrying a gear 88. A camactuated linkagesystem generally designated 89 acts upon another longitudinallyextending shaft 90 to pivot the bracket from the solid line position 86to the dotted line position 86'. In similar fashion a connecting link 91is operativelyv associated with and connected to a second bracket 92 formoving the same through about a 90 vertical arc. It will be noted thatthe pusher 29 is mounted on the bracket 86 and when the bracket 86 hasbeen pivoted 90 to the 86' position, that the pusher element 29 isaligned with the slot 93 in the top of the enclosure 67 and with thespout 94 on the bottom of the enclosure 67 a The final stage ofoperation is the depression of the pusher element 29. The elements ofthe machine responsible for this can be appreciated from a considerationof FIG. 10.

In FIG. 10 the bracket 86 which is affixed to the longitudinallyextending shaft 87 is seen to carry a vertically reciprocable carriage95 which rides upon a rod 96 provided as part of thebracket 86. It isthe carriage 95 which carries the pusher element 29. The carriage 95 isbiased toward a pusher retracted position by means of a spring 96. Thebiasing of the spring 97 is overcome by the downward movement of anactuating block 98. The actuating block 98 is pushed downwardly byvirtue of a linkage arrangement generally designated 99 and terminatingin a rod 100. The rod 100 is pivotally connected to the block 98 as at101. The block 98 engages a roller 102 carried by the carriage 95 whichurges the same downwardly against the retracting force of the spring 97so as to simultaneously fold and eject the once folded stack of bagsfrom the enclosure 67 into the box 85. The machine is reconditioned fora subsequent cycle, i.e., filling another carton by retracting upwardlythe block 98 which permits the carriage 95 to also retract upwardlyunder the urging of the spring 98. The cam system responsible foractuating the linkage system 89 then reverses itself so as to rotate thebracket 86 'to the position seen in consolid line in FIG. 9 anddesignated 86. The enclosures 67 and 67 are rotated back to theirbagreceiving position and the actuator bar arrangement 75 is depressedso as to open the jawlike housings making up the enclosures.

Further details of the mechanism employed for ejecting the stacked bagsfrom the enclosures 67 can be seen in FIG. 13. For example the block 98is seen to be slidably mounted on vertical rods 103. Further, in FIG.13, the carriage 95 and associated elements are all in the standby ascontrasted to operational condition, viz, the pusher element being inthe 29 condition.

We claim:

1. A machine for loading bags into cartons comprising means fordelivering individual bags sequentially through a first path to form astack,

means in said first path to receive said bags and support the same inpartially folded condition,

means for advancing a partially folded stack along a second pathgenerally normal to said first path,

enclosure means in said second path for receiving said partially foldedstack and confining the same to substantially fold said stack, and

pusher means for ejecting said substantially folded stack from saidenclosure means into a carton while again folding said substantiallyfolded stack.

2. The machine of claim'l in which means are provided for moving saidenclosure means through about a 90 arc prior to engagement of saidsubstantially folded stack by said pusher means.

3. The machine of claim 2 in which said enclosure means includes a pairof pivotally interconnected housing jaws, means connected to saidenclosure means for positioning said jaws apart for receiving saidpartially folded stack and for closing said jaws prior to arcuatemovement thereof, said jaws being equipped with slots for entry of saidpusher means and for ejecting said substantially folded stack.

carrier operatively associated with said support means, and reciprocablemeans operatively associated with said carrier and movable into saidslot for engaging a partially folded stack prior to conducting the samealong said second path.

6. The machine of claim 5 in which said reciprocable means includeslinkage means for changing the elevation of said carrier during thereturn stroke of each reciprocation.

1. A machine for loading bags into cartons comprising means fordelivering individual bags sequentially through a first path to form astack, means in said first path to receive said bags and support thesame in partially folded condition, means for advancing a partiallyfolded stack along a second path generally normal to said first path,enclosure means in said second path for receiving said partially foldedstack and confining the same to substantially fold said stack, andpusher means for ejecting said substantially folded stack from saidenclosure means into a carton while again folding said substantiallyfolded stack.
 2. The machine of claim 1 in which means are provided formoving said enclosure means through about a 90* arc prior to engagementof said substantially folded stack by said pusher means.
 3. The machineof claim 2 in which said enclosure means includes a pair of pivotallyinterconnected housing jaws, means connected to said enclosure means forpositioning said jaws apart for receiving said partially folded stackand for closing said jaws prior to arcuate movement thereof, said jawsbeing equipped with slots for entry of said pusher means and forejecting said substantially folded stack.
 4. The machine of claim 1 inwhich said delivering means includes a grooved vacuum roll adapted tocarry bags sequentially on its periphery and packer fingers operativelyassociated with said roll for orbital movement relative to said groovesto strip bags sequentially from said roll and move said bags in saidfirst path.
 5. The machine of claim 1 in which said support means isequipped with a slot defining a portion of said second path, a carrieroperatively associated with said support means, and reciprocable meansoperatively associated with said carrier and movable into said slot forengaging a partially folded stack prior to conducting the same alongsaid second path.
 6. The machine of claim 5 in which said reciprocablemeans includes linkage means for changing the elevation of said carrierduring the return stroke of each reciprocation.